13 Easy Holiday Party Appetizers You Can Make With Just 3 Ingredients

When you're hosting a big holiday party, it's best to keep things simple, especially when it comes to snacks. Party appetizers don't have to be fussy or complicated. In fact, you don't even need more than 3 ingredients to pull them off successfully.

Sounds good, right? Here are 15 elegant but easy holiday party appetizer ideas that can all be made with three ingredients or less. (Not counting salt, pepper, and cooking oil—we're assuming you already have those sitting on your counter.)

Yep, that's right, bacon-wrapped crackers; they're a Southern specialty sometimes called "bowties." You simply wrap bacon slices around Saltines or buttery crackers and pop them in a very low (250º F) oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the bacon is crisp. You can also add brown sugar or rosemary or swap in your favorite spice or herb as desired.

Lately, instead of serving crudités with dip, I've been squeezing lime juice all over sliced raw veggies and sprinkling them with some spiced salt. Sometimes I make my own fancy blend, sometimes I stick with just salt and chili powder—either way it's delicious, and also works great with any sliced raw fruit you want to put out too.

All you need is puff pastry, eggs, and cheese to make gorgeous, addictive cheese straws. If you want to go beyond 3 ingredients, you can add spices or herbs (I won't tell).

4. BACON-WRAPPED DRIED FRUIT

Another bacon-wrapped appetizer?!? I know...but I've never met anyone who doesn't love the combo of salty, crispy bacon and sweet, warm dried fruit. You know all about bacon-wrapped dates, right? (Add a bit of blue cheese in the middle to really knock your socks off.) But prunes are also delicious with bacon, as are dried apricots. For your vegetarian friends, make parsnip "bacon"—it looks and tastes amazing.

Using store-bought egg roll wrappers is the ultimate shortcut for making mozzarella sticks, while smoked mozzarella adds extra flavor intrigue. Yes, you have to do some frying, but homemade mozzarella sticks are so much more satisfyingly crisp than the frozen ones.

6. Oysters on the Half Shell

Serving oysters as a Christmas party appetizer is a very classy move indeed. Put them out with some lemon and hot sauce—and make sure you have help shucking so you don't get stuck doing it by yourself all night long.

7. Shrimp Cocktail

Speaking of easy holiday party appetizers, there is no shame in buying pre-cooked shrimp and a container of cocktail sauce—everyone always loves it. Just transfer the shrimp to a pretty serving platter and add some lemon wedges for a homemade look.

8. PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED BREAD STICKS

It doesn't get much easier than this: Buy high-quality prosciutto and a box of grissini, the thin breadsticks you can find at any Italian speciality market. Wrap, eat, repeat.

9. Tinned Fish Toasts

I could spend hours detailing various dip combinations to trot out this holiday season, but this recipe is a great starting base—creamy feta cheese, olive oil, and a mess of fresh herbs. Need more ideas? Check out my No Recipe Required on the subject. FYI, my favorite thing to serve with a creamy dip are baby romaine leaves: they're crunchy, frilly, and pleasantly surprising—try it.

You really only need one ingredient for this one: a wheel of creamy brie cheese, which you simply heat up until it's melty and slightly gooey. Oh, and don't forget to pair it with a loaf of crusty bread—which makes two ingredients. If you want to get fancy you could also wrap it in puff pastry before baking, and maybe add a layer of something extra on top (pepper jelly, cranberry sauce, honey and pistachios) before you wrap and bake.

12. Chips With Caviar

Potato chips with caviar is one of my favorite high-brow meets low-brow pairings; add crème fraîche for the ultimate 3-ingredient appetizer. And yes, it goes very well with that bottle of bubbly.

13. Endive Cups

The endive leaf is the best bite-size appetizer base you're not using. Unlike toast, an endive leaf has a natural cup shape to hold everything you put on top of it in place. So start piling on pairs of ingredients: try shredded duck confit and fig jam, or ricotta and pesto, or grapefruit segments and Parmesan ribbons.

14. Smoked Salmon Canapés

Slices of cucumber topped with smoked salmon is an excellent combo that's super-easy to crank out en masse. Add a sprinkle of Aleppo-style pepper or chopped fresh dill for a pop of color and flavor.

15. Warmed Spiced Olives

Putting out a bowl of olives is never a bad idea, but putting out a bowl of warm, subtly-spiced olives is a particularly good one. Simply warm your favorite olives in a skillet with some crushed chile flakes, a few twirls of citrus zest, and enough olive oil to cover, then serve with extra bread for mopping up that flavorful oil once the olives are all gone.